So, I was digging around the internet the other day, trying to find out more about this wrestler everyone’s talking about, LA Knight. I mean, the guy’s everywhere in WWE right now, right? You can’t open a wrestling site without seeing his name pop up. Fans are going crazy for him, chanting his name and all that. It’s wild.
Who is this guy, really?
First off, I wanted to know if he was related to anyone famous in the wrestling world. Turns out, not really. But he’s super close to his sister, Kaylee Ricker, and his dad. That’s kind of cool, seeing the family side of these wrestlers. And get this, he’s married to a lady named Michelle Yavulla, and they live in Orlando with a couple of dogs. Seems like a pretty normal life outside the ring.
How did I even get into this?
Well, I was watching some old matches, and this guy just kept popping up. I realized he used to go by Eli Drake back in the day. He had this match where he had to lose to a big female star, which I thought was interesting. Then I found out he was even in WWE a long time ago, from 2013-2014, but just as a guy who lost a lot to bigger names like Baron Corbin. He got let go from there, which must have sucked.
Then I had to play the game, of course.
I fired up WWE 2K22, and guess what? He wasn’t even a character you could play as! But, I did find him as the voice of some other dude in the game, this character called Paragon Jay Pierce. A little Easter egg, I guess. But it made me wonder why he wasn’t a bigger deal in the game if he’s so popular now.
Fast forward to now.
I’m watching WWE today, and LA Knight is all over the place. He’s calling out the whole NXT roster, saying he’s there to “change the game.” He’s talking about winning championships. He even beat Rey Mysterio, which is a huge deal. He’s really on the up and up. It’s like the fans just decided they loved him, and WWE had to listen. And they did – now he’s the WWE United States Champion!
What’s the deal with the money?
Of course, I had to look up how much this guy’s making. Apparently, he’s worth around $3 million now, which is pretty impressive. He’s pulling in about $150,000 a year from WWE, plus whatever he makes from endorsements and stuff. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even a playable character in the game a couple of years ago, huh?
So, what’s the takeaway?
This whole deep dive into LA Knight just shows how unpredictable the wrestling business can be. One minute you’re losing matches, the next you’re a champion that everyone loves. It’s a wild ride, and I’m here for it. And I’m definitely going to keep an eye on LA Knight. He’s going places, that’s for sure.
